Japan

Researchers from Osaka University and collaborating partners measured intracellular temperature gradients in human-derived cells at unprecedented spatial, temporal, and readout resolution. Intracellular temperature is a fundamental indicator of health, and corresponding gradients are the subject of medical hypotheses as well as potential drug development directions. The results of this work will advance such research by providing a versatile tool that's compatible with standard technology and procedures.

Osaka University researchers created a diminished reality system for providing a future view of a building to be demolished. By implementing generative adversarial networks on a remote server, the team was able to stream real-time video that predicted what a landscape would look like after a building was demolished. This technology can help with urban renewal planning and stakeholder discussions.

Researchers from Osaka University and collaborating partners used straightforward chemical synthesis to modulate the phase transition of a thermal conductivity-switching block copolymer. Reversible changes in the nanostructured anisotropy in the material corresponded to an approximately two-fold change in the thermal conductivity, over the 27°C to 147°C temperature range. These results will enhance the sustainability of upcoming advanced flexible organic electronics.

A research group led by Associate Professor Kazuki Uemura of the Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science, Osaka Metropolitan University conducted a cross-sectional study, using GPS and accelerometers, of 133 elderly people (aged 65 or older) in Toyama Prefecture to investigate their out-of-home behavior and amounts of physical activity during 14 days. The results demonstrated that the amounts of physical activity among the participants were more strongly influenced by the number of visited places (nodes) than by out-of-home time. This suggests that diversity, not just duration, of out-of-home behavior may be important when encouraging the elderly to go out to extend their life expectancy.

Evidence for Molecular Packing of Monovalent Iridium (III) Complexes within Interlayer Spaces of Sodium Montmorillonite

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants in pet cats lowers blood thyroid hormone levels and causes chronic oxidative stress.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters how to simulate 3D atomic force microscopy images of out-of-equilibrium systems involving biomolecules. The approach makes use of a celebrated equation from thermodynamics applicable to non-equilibrium situations.

Osaka University researchers designed a silicon-based agent that successfully generated hydrogen continuously in the mouse gastrointestinal tract in an ulcerative colitis (UC) model. The hydrogen served as an antioxidant that could eliminate the reactive oxygen species shown to induce the chronic inflammation responsible for the damage and symptoms caused by UC. Mice given the agent had reduced hemorrhage, inflammation, and hyperexcitability in the brain area associated with visceral pain and discomfort. These results may help with the development of a novel treatment for UC.

A key molecule for cancer metastasis has been identified as a molecule already known for its involvement in cardiovascular disease, suggesting a possible treatment approach for both diseases simultaneously.

Three of the nuclear power plants that supplied Tokyo, Japan with its electricity have been shut down since 2003. To understand the long-term implications of this change to Tokyo’s power grid, researchers studied how CO2 emissions in the city differed since the power plant closures.

Research team develops functional annotation workflow for genome sequencing of insects

Nonthermal plasma (NTP) is used to activate CO2 molecules for hydrogenation into alternative fuels at low temperatures, also enabling the conversion of renewable electricity to chemical energy. Researchers from Tokyo Tech combined experimental and computational methods to investigate the hydrogenation pathway of NTP-promoted CO2 on the surface of Pd2Ga/SiO2 catalysts. The mechanistic insights from their study can help improve the efficiency of catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 and allows the engineers to design new concept catalysts.

A neural network method machine-learning technique has enabled researchers to develop a very fast and highly efficient software program that can make theoretical predictions about structure formation in the universe.

Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo introduce a machine learning method to help predict past infection from receptor sequences of immune T-cells even when little data is available, which may help improve human health and our understanding of adaptive immunity

The quest for the ideal COVID-19 policies to contain outbreaks without border closures that harm the travel industry led researchers to one protocol.

Saliva and oral cells are important routes for transmission and infection by the novel coronavirus COVID-19. A research group led by Associate Professor Misako Matsubara and Specially Appointed Professor Katsutoshi Yoshizato of Osaka Metropolitan University hypothesized that the body's innate immune system may protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The onset and severity of COVID-19 are age-dependent, as are parts of the innate immune system like saliva production and quality, which are significantly reduced in the elderly. They found that saliva from healthy individuals prevented the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 on the viral envelope to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor present on the plasma membrane of human cells in a concentration-dependent manner.

A research group led by Dr. Soichi Sano, a specially appointed lecturer in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, revealed that men with hematopoietic mosaic loss of Y chromosome (mLOY) — meaning men with an increase, in the blood, of cells that have lost the male sex chromosome — have a worse prognosis for heart failure due to fibrosis progression in the heart. Furthermore, in experiments using mice, which, like humans, have an increased mortality rate with age, they found that the presence of mLOY causes overproduction of fibrosis-promoting substances, which leads to the progression of cardiac fibrosis, a mechanism directly related to a worse prognosis for heart failure.

Cultured human skeletal muscle cells infused with serum from hibernating bears exhibited “muscle gain” confirming that these creatures’ ability to avoid muscular damage despite months of inactivity is in their blood.

Fresh vegetables in vinegar, similar to pickles, are a perfect side dish, commonly served with Japanese cooking. One traditional side dish called sunomono, a cool cucumber or seaweed salad, provided a unique opportunity as a source of dietary vinegar. This new observational study from Osaka Metropolitan University noted that men over 40 who eat sunomono at least once a month were significantly more likely to be in lower blood pressure categories.

Innate immunity is activated when the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). We show that a liver-derived secretory protein LECT2, a hepatokine, binds to the HGF receptor MET, a proto-oncogene product, to suppress the proliferation signal of MET. LECT2 activates retinoic acid-inducible gene-I, enhancing antiviral and innate immune responses through MET. Thus, LECT2 is an anti-proliferative and immunoregulatory factor that could be a therapeutic target for viral infections and cancer.

A team of astronomers including Kavli IPMU discovered a mysterious short-duration astronomical event that was as bright as a superluminous supernova, but evolving much faster, reports a new study.

Osaka University researchers identified a novel mechanism by which expression of the tumor suppressor p53 paradoxically promotes liver cancer development in patients with chronic liver disease. By generating a mouse model with constant p53 expression in its liver cells, the team observed increased numbers of hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) and liver cancer incidence. These HPCs could induce cancer when injected into certain mice. This did not occur with p53 deleted, demonstrating its critical significance.

A thermoelectric metal oxide film with a thermoelectric figure of merit of ~0.55 at 600°C has been discovered, opening new avenues towards the widespread use of thermoelectric converters.

A novel molecular pathway involving cell signalling proteins in the brain may explain how stress affects neuropsychiatric lupus with diffuse neuropsychological manifestations.

Researchers from Osaka University found that when viewing photos of strangers, ratings of trustworthiness were correlated with facial similarity as calculated by an artificial neural network. However, facial similarity was only a factor in trustworthiness when the observer and stranger were the same sex.

Researchers from Osaka University have shown that the oncogene-encoded molecule Src is responsible for epithelial cells developing invasive potential and overcoming the normal cellular defense of apical extrusion, but only when Src is located in lipid rafts in the cell membrane. Src is recruited and activated into lipid rafts by a molecule called CDCP1, which forms a molecular scaffold within the lipid rafts. CDCP1 could therefore be a promising new drug target for early-stage cancers.

Researchers from Osaka University examined how disease severity is evaluated in the context of preimplantation genetic testing for single-gene diseases (PGT-M) by conducting case studies of the regulatory frameworks governing PGT-M in Japan, the United Kingdom, and Western Australia through analysis of relevant policy documents. Results of their study showed that how policies define the standard for disease severity that would justify PGT-M and how decisions are made regarding the eligibility of individual cases have important social and ethical implications.

A research group of Professor Makoto Tsubota and Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Satoshi Yui, both from the Graduate School of Science and the Nambu Yoichiro Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Osaka Metropolitan University, in cooperation with their colleagues from Florida State University and Keio University, revealed that there are laws of vortex diffusion in superfluid helium-4 (He II) at extremely low temperatures, near absolute zero (−273°C). In this study, by conducting a systematic numerical study and comparing the results with experimental observations, the research group found that quantum vortices cause "superdiffusion" over short periods of time and "normal diffusion" over longer periods of time, similar to the movement of pollen in still water.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) allows to visualize the dynamics of single biomolecules during their functional activity. All observations are, however, restricted to regions accessible by a fairly big probing tip during scanning. Hence, AFM images only the biomolecular surface with limited spatial resolution, missing important information required for a detailed understanding of the observed phenomena.

Osaka University researchers described a novel effect in which the voltage generated by photovoltaic devices can change based on the color of incidence light. They show how this feature is due to random energy states that exist inside the antimony sulfiodide devices. This work may lead to more robust renewable energy generated by solar cells.